One Year at The Forge!

admin530927
Jul 29
3 min read

The Forge is turning ONE and just like a little one-year-old, it’s spent this first year growing at an incredible pace. Learning something new every day, finding its feet, and gradually becoming everything I hoped it would be. The vision was always there; this past year has simply been about watching that vision come to life.

The truth is, this story didn’t start a year ago. It started many years ago in a scruffy notebook filled with scribbles, ideas and dreams. There were rough logo sketches, pages of thoughts, and even made-up client reviews describing how I hoped people would one day feel after visiting my studio.

I wanted to create somewhere that welcomed everybody. A place where bodies of all ages, abilities & stages could come together to move, breathe and simply feel better than when they arrived. Where your mind became so absorbed in movement that, for a little while, everything else became quieter.

Originally, I was preparing to convert my front room into a tiny studio with just one reformer. Then one evening, completely out of the blue. A unit had become available nearby. I grabbed the nearest notepad I could find, my son’s Batman notebook and drove over to have a look. The barn was full of old printing equipment. It was dark. Dusty. Cobwebs everywhere. It needed so much work. But I looked up and, somehow, I could already see the space it might become. I said yes before I really knew how I was going to make it happen.

Driving home I remember saying to my family, “I may have done something a little silly…”

Instead of panic, they smiled, hugged me and simply said, “We’ll work it out.”

And that’s exactly what we did. One step at a time. Learning how to build a website. Figuring out booking systems. Meetings with banks. Choosing flooring, paint colours and equipment. Then, one year ago, the doors opened.

That was the scariest part of all. Opening the door and hoping somebody would walk through it.

Thankfully… you did.

The truth is this hasn't happened because of one person, Its happened because so many of you believed in the same idea.

Week after week you’ve walked through those doors.

I've watched people arrive nervous for their very first class and months later hold the door open for someone walking in feeling exactly the same.

There has been laughter, friendships, confidence built, strength gained and a community created, that is more special than I could ever have imagined.

You’ve trusted us with your bodies, your injuries, and your wellbeing.

People now come every single week sometimes twice. They bring their husbands, wives, mums, dads, sons, daughters and friends.

Our incredible team of instructors has grown into something I’m so proud of, and every one of them brings their own warmth, experience and care to our community.

Recently, I’ve found myself looking out at our little olive tree.

Like The Forge, it’s spent its first year quietly putting down roots. Growing stronger. Preparing for the years ahead.

It also reminds me of this beautiful old barn that now feels like home to so many of us.

Years ago it could easily have been knocked down. Instead, someone saw the value in it. They restored it. Strengthened it. Built on its foundations while preserving its character. In many ways, that’s exactly what we do here. Pilates isn’t about trying to turn back the clock.

It’s about looking after the body you have today, so it can keep looking after you tomorrow.

Every class is an investment in your future.

Every bit of strength and balance you build today is something your future self will thank you for. It’s to help you keep hiking, gardening, travelling, skydiving, playing with children, getting up from the floor, carrying the shopping, dancing in your kitchen and living life fully for as many years as possible.

Because if we’re lucky enough to grow old, I hope the choices we make today help us enjoy every one of those years. So as our little one-year-old celebrates its first birthday, I simply want to say thank you.

Thank you for believing in an idea that once lived only in a scruffy notebook.

Thank you for trusting us. For supporting us. For recommending us.

And for making The Forge what it has become.

All those years ago, I wrote down a dream of creating a place where everybody felt welcome.

A place where strangers became familiar faces.

Today, because of every one of you, that place exists.

Thank you for helping bring that dream to life.

Here's to Year Two.

Lisa x